LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – By day, Shawn Pryor is known for fixing computers for faculty members, doctors and researchers at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center, but that’s not all he does!
Shawn Pryor has been an author for 17 years. During this time he has written over 50 books on a wide variety of topics.
“This is one of my newest books, ‘The Great Explorer of Mammoth Cave: a Graphic Novel Biography of Stephen Bishop,'” lPryor said. “The cool thing about it is that this book not only represents American history, but Kentucky history and black history as well.”
From a biography of Olympic snowboarder Shaun White to a tribute comic about the Flintstones, there are no limits for Shawn Pryor.
“Being creative encourages critical thinking,” Pryor said. “Being creative allows children, adults, everyone, to see all the different ways of telling stories.”
What started as an opportunity to share these skills with children at Winburn Middle School during a seminar quickly evolved into something much bigger.
“It was such a great experience that I decided to continue on my own initiative and just pay for it out of my own pocket,” Pryor said.
For the past three years, Shawn has been running a free comics and sequential art workshop for four months of the school year.
“We teach kids sequential drawing, comics, graphic novels, storytelling, creativity, character creation, all kinds of things,” Pryor said. “And at the same time we give them creative flexibility and freedom.”
The courses take place on Saturdays and are getting bigger every year.
“I’ve worked with comics professionally,” Pryor said. “I have friends who work in animation and used to make comics. I have friends who do storyboards for real Hollywood movies. I want to show kids that this is about more than just comics.”
Just as comics bring a story to life, Shawn hopes that by showing the children he mentors these possibilities, they can shape their futures.
“They’re just incredible, talented kids,” Pryor said. “I just want to make sure I can continue to give back to them. It’s about how many doors are actually open to you. These students can see what career opportunities are open to them in the future.”
Shawn is already planning for 2025. As class sizes grow, he needs some help paying for snacks, art supplies, and graphic novels for the kids. If you would like to donate to his GoFundMe campaign, click here.
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